A royally inspired lover of Kate Middleton who loves to talk about all things fashion, beauty and travel. Love dreaming BIG, and the perfect setting of Victorian, Georgian, Edwardian or Regency period novels, based in England. In search of the perfect "replikate".

Tag: your beautiful business academy

The new year stands before us, like a chapter in a book, waiting to be written. …

So, it’s a New Year. It is 2018 and I am ready to rock! Bring out the planners. Create a fresh new vision! Build my future and further business/work/blogger prospects.

Before I tell you my favourite books or quotes of the year, I want to reflect on the year ahead. I want to broaden my writing prospects. Study more. Read more. Have more “quiet times”. Be more community involved. Join a church. I have just started attending KingdomCity in Wangara here in Western Australia with the senior pastors, Mark and Jemima Varughese. Their vision is “connecting, equipping and empowering people to bring the reality of God to their world.”

But I just want to further my education goals and reach higher. Aim higher. Get more and better fast tracked results health wise, financial wise or any goal-oriented points I put myself into.

My dream.

One word.

London.

Full stop.

I am enjoying the peace and quiet in Landsdale to reflect on what I personally want and strive to do. I have done the Reverse Bucket List last year. Tick!

I have set goals.

I want to be creative in my ideas.

But now is my time to put things into action and for once, use my decision-making skills and learn the decision-making process.

I have set goals and tasks, which I could share with you, but all I am thinking is, the “refresh” button. I want to start all over again, renew my thoughts, clear my mind, do it with a clean slate.

I am a goal oriented girl, and constantly talk about goals whether they’re long or short! My full dreams and aspirations and all the things I want to achieve. I am a very creative type, so doing things to create a program and become creative in everything I do would definitely help. I would love to create a platform for women to gain confidence in themselves. Starting a finishing school in Perth would also be a huge ambition/dream. I am ready!

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. …

So, I am pulling out “Your Beautiful Business” Book by Emma Franklin Belle and going to re-read this short inspirational book to see if I can turn my dreams of this blog into a business.

Emma Franklin Bell is the founder of The Beautiful Business Academy (The BBA). The BBA is an entrepreneurial academy for creative women who want to accelerate the growth of their businesses and successfully build their brands.

Your Beautiful Business Book inspires you to leap into your business and build something that is soulful, purposeful and profitable!

Next up, I will go through the book step by step about decluttering and building a stand out clear vision for my business. Bring on 2018 with some new fresh ideas and a heart full of many desires. I will be working on a book review of this book in my next blog post.

Any tips?

Have you started a business?

What are your goals for 2018?

Have you got any writing goals?

Any travel goals?

Also, what do you think of me starting a Finishing School in Perth for young ladies? Please comment below your thoughts. I would LOVE to hear from you!

Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.

P.S. I will add my favourite books of the year and do more Book Reviews this year along with some different self-help quotes in a new blog post.

Also, don’t forget to check out Emma’s website and claim your FREE copy of her book!

The most fascinating and interesting country that it is, it is the country with the most richest history. It has a very ethnically mixed population and is influenced by it’s history of Victorian times, Edwardian times, the Regency Period, the middle ages, the Tudor Period, and other periods like the Anglo-Saxona and Roman period.

It’s history is absolutely intriguing and widely looked at. I would love to do an overview of each period but that would take a VERY long time! From the Lancastrian period to the House of York, and House of Windsor, it is full of pomp and circumstance, which is a familiar motto used in the country.

It is defined by the distinct cultural standards of England and the “English” people. I particularly like the culture in London as it is widely believed to be the culture capital of the world, known for its music ( people like Ellie Goulding, Victoria Beckham, Mick Jagger, John Lennon and Paul McCartney just to name a few!), museums (V&A, Natural History, National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery), festivals (Boomtown, Winchester, Bestival, Lulworth Castle – the Green Man Festival full of comedy, theatre, and literary worlds – there is also the Latitude Festival that is held at Hehla, Park which has DJ’s hidden in the woods, colourful sheep roaming, opera on the lake, and actors and dance troupes)

England is known for its traditional music halls, West End theatres, London has it all when it comes to entertainment! It is renowned for its theatre (just like Melbourne!) and an array of tours and attractions and sporting occasions.

2. Charming little towns and villages

There are many gorgeous little villages that hold character and charm, such as Chester (Cheshire in which I have talked about in previous posts) it is a county in the north west of England located on the River Dee with a population of around 300,000 and is one of the best preserved wall cities and full of medieval buildings, some, Victorian Restorations.

There is also Canterbury which has Canterbury Cathedral which is very special and is the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury and is the mother church of the Anglican community throughout the world. it is a historical cathedral city and UNESCO world heritage site and a local government district of Kent. it lies on the River Stour. It was also a pilgrimage site in the middle ages. It is a very historic British town.

3. Beautiful Scenery

England has absolutely BEAUTIFUL scenery, and you can see ocean views from places like Eastbourne (a seaside resort), in the country and then you’ve got amazing, picturesque, gorgeous area of natural beauty at the Lake District. It is one of the most beautiful places of England, even though I haven’t been there I have heard so much about this huge area, and know a few people that live there or have been there on holidays. There seem to be incredible views! especially of glistening waters and valleys.

You have also got the South Downs National Park in Sussex

3. Enchanting Georgian Architecture

Apparently one of the most beautiful places in England is the gorgeous and harmonious location of Bath, Somerset. This is DEFINITELY on my “list of Travel Dreams”, and is so elegant-looking. It is known to be the place that Jane Austen used as a setting for her novels, Northanger Abbey and Persusasion, and apparently where Thomas Gainsborough (the painter) did his landscape paintings.

4. The Best Pub Walks

From its spectacular coastline to its mountain peaks, Britains diverse landscapes can also be the best for walking. Britain is known for its unique establishments ‘the pub’ – for example, you have, The Cob and Lobster, The Old Nags Head, Lister Arms, The Boatman, which is nestled below Windsor Castle beside the River Thames, overlooking Eton Bridge.

5. The Peak Disctrict

This is another piece of inspiration for Jane Austen, plus Charlotte Bronte, it has been a charming spot for Brits for centuries, with its billowed hills, desolated cliffs and eye-catching country houses.

6. Romantic Places

My idea of Britain is becoming more and more about having a stroll in the countryside, or munching on some Fortnum and Mason goodies, or reading in the park with some delightful macaroons from Pierre Herme Paris or L’Orchidee.

Also, my idea to take myself back to something evocative even though I haven’t been there is, Tintagel Castle in Cornwall. it is known to be one of the most greatest medieval sites in the entire country, and apparently is the birthplace of King Arthur. It looks simply enchanting. or such as Highclere Castle nestled in the countryside of Hampshire.

When I think of the word ‘romantic’ I think of ‘Derbyshire’, an abundant hinterland, the district of Charlotte Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’ looks absolutely breathtaking. This county is filled with stately homes and looks as green as ever!, and also in Pride and Prejudice the character Fitzwilliam Darcy was situated here as well, plus one of Georgette Heyers books, and quite a few others as well have used it as a novel setting.

7. It’s old castles

One of the most iconic of all fortresses is:

Dover Castle. From the Romans to the Cold War, you can roam through centuries of history here. You can also step into the Great Tower and immerse yourself in a medieval castle. In the 1180’s Henry the second remodelled it.

Kenilworth Castle

It is full of so much history of 900 years, an Elizabethan palace where the Great Hall played hosts to medieval monarchs and early Tudor Kings. You can also have a walk in the 400 year old, Elizabethan Garden, a haven of peace and tranquility, and bursting with full colour! There is also an exhibition, Leicesters Gatehouse a castle entrance built by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester in 1571, as part of his plan to pursue Queen Elizabeth I.

There are so many other castles such as Tintagel, Bolsover, Portchester, Warkworth, Dunstanburgh and Carisbrooke, Middleham and Beeston.

8. The People

Full of friendly inhabitants, British people are citizens of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies. The ‘British’ can be referred to as the Celtic Britons, which were ‘The Celts’ who were an Indo-European people who inhabited Great Britain during the Iron Age right into the Middle Ages, at which point their culture/language diverged. They spoke Common Brittonic Lanaguage.

The British are a diverse, multi-cultural and bilingual society. The British are very polite people and say ‘thank you’ to everything!!! ‘Excuse me’ is used A LOT and are known to keep to themselves, generally ‘quite’ reserved!

9. Quality of Life

The U.K is a good place to live and work and is one of the best developed countries for quality of life.

Why?

Education:

Education is highly-ranked internationally and the U.K has spent billions of dollars on primary and secondary education plus tertiary. $83.4 billio was spent on education.

Income:

The median household income is about 23,556 pounds and the U.K is quite a wealthy country, what would it be without Lords and Ladies??? Income can vary considerably by location and a few of the most expensive suburbs are Chelsea, Kensington and the city of London itself, with median annual income of $58,000 pounds.

10. The BIG cities!!!!

From Manchester to Birmingham-Wolverhampton to Liverpool and Leeds-Bradford, London ranks as the highest in the hierarchy of British cities, and of COURSE I am going to include it!!!!!

There are currently 69 cities in the United Kingdom that have been granted city status by letters patent (which is a legal instrument issued by a monarch or head of state) and royal charter (a formal document granting right and/or power to an individual or an association or society).

There is SOOO much information on London alone and is the most populous city in England. It overlooks the River Thames and can also be known as ‘Londinium’ which came from the Romans as they were the ones that founded the city. It is a metropolis and a leading global city, in the arts particularly, and majorly in fashion, media and entertainment, and also known for its professional services and research and development. It is also the worlds largest financial centre and the worlds most visited city according to international arrivals.

Londons famous landmarks are:

Trafalgar Square

The London Eye

The Shard

Tower Bridge

Picadillly Circus

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

St Pauls Cathedral

It has a population of 8 million people.

…. and these are the reasons why we can’t help but fall in love with Britain

Here are my top 7 tips and traits for a lady aspiring to be a woman of elegance.

1. Kindness – caring, compassionate, loving and considerate

A kind person shows concur for the feelings of others and is helpful and generous. A kind person does good deeds without expecting rewards for doing so. It is a fundamental aspect of manifesting careens and can be the ability to place the needs of others before your own, to be completely selfless and full of empathy.

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see”

Mark Twain

Kindness is a character strength and a lot of people in this world classify it as ‘good character’. To me,it is number one. You are always going to have unkind people in this world, but we can’t change that, but we CAN change it by being kind. In some situations, where someone is unkind to you and your approach is to be kind back – to me, that is what a woman of strength is, and having that virtue of humanity can change your world.

You can practise or express kindness through doing charity work, or just going home and loving your family is enough.

“Kindness consists of doing favours and good deeds for others without the expectation of personal gain. This strength requires respect for others but also includes emotional affection. Kind people find joy in the act of giving and helping other people, regardless of their degree of relatedness or similarity.”

Tayyab Rashid

According to studies, it creates a significant increase in life satisfaction. Another study also found that participants felt happier spending money on others rather than themselves.

Happiness can be increased through the practice of kindness.

“My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness” Dalai Lama

Here are some ways to practice kindness:

– Buy a small gift randomly for someone
– Make a card for a friend
– Talk to someone who is shy
– Set up a coffee date with an old girlfriend
– Donate your unneeded possessions
– Talk with a neighbour
– Smile at people passing by

2. Cautiousness

Now you are probably wondering why I put this down as a trait. I put this second as it is a trait that a lot of women aren’t really aware of. There can be so many situations where you can put this into practice. In relationships, particularly when someone uses you for their own gain – you need to be watchful and mindful of these kind of people, and carry on in circumspection.

Another great words to describe this trait is to be ‘vigilant’. These two words are found in the bible in Psalms a lot, particularly when King David talks about his enemies.

3. Self – Respect

As they say, “Elegant ladies are hard to come by.” If you are a young girl looking for information on how to be an elegant lady or like a lady in Downton Abbey, you will come to realise that they have a lot of self-love and del-respect for themselves. The way they carry themselves is with two things:

grace and poise

as they always say!

And how they dress definitely reflects their character. Self-care is of the utmost importance and self-respect and self-care co-exist. It is by development of self-understanding and self-awareness. Through the way they speak, address people, talk, what they are capable of, and holding a lot of self-confidence.

it is all about being aware and confident of who you are.

Through self-awareness you are attuned to your feelings, emotional responses, and listening to the tone of your inner voice. I also did a post on “Staying true to yourself” and it is not easy to do that if you really don’t know who you are, perceptively. To perceive is to be aware, and someone who is perceptive is considered aware, intelligent and insightful.

Huffington Post states on “the 10 Understated Qualities of a truly beautiful woman” that “when your are self-loving you naturally possess a quiet confidence. Your self-awareness, dedication to self-development and personal growth provide you the knowledge to succeed nearly at anything you seek”

4. Treat yourself first-class

An elegant striving lady always treats herself first-class; she is comfortable in her own skin and with her self.

Sometimes we feel less than a lady if we don’t treat ourselves as number 1! You have to think of yourself as FIRST CLASS even if you are in the middle/low classes of society. Society brands certain ladies to be who they WANT to be first-class. We can be bigoted about it and often we forget to use our strongest trait to be kind to ourselves.

5. Use what you’ve got

Wearing a $1000 Buberry coat, and $500 pairs of Vivienne Westwood shoes doesn’t have to be everyones signature and yes, I love delving into high-end luxury brands but at the end of the day, that doesn’t make you elegant. I believe elegance is definitely an inner beauty. It is the way you interact with people and the demeanour you carry that makes you truly elegant. You don’t have to look a MILLION dollars either, although that would be nice! You are probably thinking, why should I take advice from someone who uses the word “exquisite” for their blog, and they’re saying this!!?? but that’s just something I aspire to, and it is not the actual definition of my name. I hope you understand where I am coming from.

6. She uses proper etiquette

In my recent post “How to have proper etiquette” I hone in on the 19th century background but if that doesn’t interest you, it’s fine! In the modern world, it still applies today.

Proper etiquette never goes out of fashion, and knowing the basics, it shows an air or possession of elegance. Over the years, we forget the general rules of etiquette – it can be a “younger generation” thing or maybe you weren’t taught at home, or in your upbringing. It is important to understand it’s meaning and what perceptions you have.

7. A BIG heart

To some, this may seem the most important. I think this can co-exist with kindness because without a big heart ,there is none!

She is someone who doesn’t like to meddle in major gossip and is not petty or catty towards anyone! She is someone who is aware of her thoughts, moods, actions and she puts in a lot of effort when it comes to relationships/friendships.

I love what Kathleen Cheung said at the University of Toronto.

“She’s introspective and she puts in the effort to understand herself on a deeper level so she doesn’t let “what others think” or “what others do” to direct her decision in life.”

She is open-minded, honest, and most of all, believes in herself, and allows things to be, instead of meddling in other peoples affairs. It takes a big heart to help shape other peoples lives and your own. So, don’t forget to have an open heart towards people, even when you have been heart broken in the past or something major has changed the course of your life path.

I suggest you go through each trait thoroughly and write notes if you like. You can use the information for your own benefit, and I highly praise you for reading till the end because it is not EVERy girls ambition to have these kind of character traits and I admire you for wanting to read something of this calibre, with this title, to further develop yourself as a woman and “A Lady of Quality”

In the 19th century, wine, entertaining and feasting was widely practised, as tradition in an English home was banqueting and/or hosting such huge events.

In Western European culture attending parties was almost like the law. It was a British regulation, and part of high society. In the late nineteenth century, a wealthy family would always serve their feast on exquisite china followed by silverware.

Although you have the working class to lower and upper middle class, all classes celebrate at some point.

I would love to one day specifically do a blog on “Victorian Englands Social Hierarchy” but I don’t want to get too carried away and off topic, but I just want to give you a bit of a background to the topic we are going to be covering.

The idea of banqueting is actually found in ancient times, but the definition of it is: a large meal or feast, completed with main courses and desserts. It is also known as an elaborate and formal evening meal.

For example, you have ‘state banquets’ held at Buckingham Palace. The English have “Dinner Etiquette” when it comes to formal dining. If you have been invited to a dinner, always make sure to RSVP at least within a week whether it is lavish or not. This is out of general respect. Your response should always be handwritten or printed on a correspondence card.

Manners and Etiquette in general should still matter these days and proper manners allow us to be comfortable in front of others and society. It is used in todays aspects, in a world of social media. Social Media etiquette is something I really would like to cover and is a whole other topic and should be used when posting on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, etc. I believe that when you use the correct manners you will always be highly regarded and more respected than those who don’t.

Formal Dining

A formal dinner requires a lady to wear evening attire, such as a slim black dress that flatters or accentuates your body. In the eighteenth century the dinner dress code was a corset, bodice, stockings, petticoat, a gown, ruffles and shoes. (With formal evening attire make sure you dress classically and appropriately. If you are not sure about the appropriate dress, ask the host before attending)

Never serve for yourself, unless stated

Do not pass dishes around, to avoid any trait of clumsiness

When there are butlers, they do all the service and table clearing If there are serving dishes or utensils placed on the table then you may ask the hosts if you can serve yourself, otherwise, I always wit until I am told that i can serve myself. Wait, watch, look and see what other people are doing as well

It is not your local coffee shop where you can just sit down wherever or whenever you like – there is specific seating arrangement, especially in a royal household!

When serving a formal dinner

Forks go on the left

Salad fork first

Dinner fork beside the plate

On the right side of the plate, knife, appetiser, salad knife, spoon or soup spoon.

The dessert fork and spoon are placed on the table above the plate, fork pointing right, spoon pointing left

At a formal dinner, the host/hostess or the guests do not assist with serving meals. Formal dining, you should know, does not allow you to have second helpings as well.

Menu Courses

A full course dinner can consist of several dishes. Even 16!

Appetisers – These canapés would be served in the drawing room before entering the dining room

Soup – A cream coup to help digestive systems prepare for heavier courses

Fish – Can be served as a platter hot or cold

Entree – can consist of poultry or vegetables

Removes – This is a portion of a meal

Sorbet – This is a palate cleanser

Roast – The final heavy course

You can also include number 8 as a salad which is greens with a light dressing.

If you want to Eat like an Edwardian with a meal plan like the Crawleys of Downton Abbey, this is the way to go! You can also include fruit and cheese! Here is an example from Prince William and Catherine Middletons wedding:

Traditionally, after the whole course menu there is some form or entertainment, typically in the 19th century it was dancing and playing with cards – like you see in those period costume dramas.

Getting involved in these activities will benefit you socially and people will love you for it!

Lastly, don’t forget to say ‘thank you’ to the host/s for such a wonderful evening, or for holding such a great party! The nicer you are, the more respect you get!

Recent Posts: The Lady Wallace

Recent Posts: Penguin Blog

Our brand new website is here and it’s the place to go for all things bookish. This means that we won’t be posting any new updates on the Penguin Blog, instead we’ve moved all your favourite articles, interviews, and extracts to http://www.penguin.co.uk and will host all the latest news and exclusive content here. Watch our video below for a look at what you can find there.

Never fear, Penguin Life is here with a series of fabulous talks and events designed to get you to make the most of your 2016 resolutions and live life better whether that’s at home, work or play across the whole year.

You can be happier, healthier and slimmer in just 15 minutes a day with the superb advice from The Feel Good Plan, by celebrity trainer Dalton Wong and health writer Kate Faithfull-Williams. Here’s an extract that shows you how to relax and refocus at work.

It’s the small, everyday things that make a difference and contribute to a happier, more fulfilled life. Writers from The Book of You﻿ have chosen some of their favourite micro-actions that you can easily put into practice for a sunnier, more contented you.